40 years and still going strong for horse lovers
By Heidi Dahms Foster
When Deniece McAnulty moved to Prescott four decades ago, she most missed her ladies’ riding group in Walla Walla, Washington. It didn’t take her long to do something about it. In 1981, she gathered eight friends who were interested in horses and founded what can easily be called the area’s most successful equine group, the Granite Mountain Riders.
After its founding, GMR sponsored a series of open horse shows and gymkhanas, managed the Mile High Quarter Horse Mini Circuit, and supported many community events, including the Frontier Days Rodeo Queen program, several children’s programs, various animal rescue groups and a scholarship for a local student. Most famously, GMR provided seed money to help start the popular Horses with H.E.A.R.T., a local therapeutic riding program, which is still going strong today.
GMR has always been primarily a social club for women who love horses. Members did not need to own a horse, they simply needed to love horses. They rode in parades, rodeo grand entries and trail rides, and enjoyed monthly potlucks and educational gatherings. As time went on, however, McAnulty became very busy in her personal life and wasn’t as active in GMR. Membership began to dwindle, and finally, in 2010, just eight people were left.
“The group thought it was time to fold, but I said, “We’ve been here almost 30 years.’” McAnulty said. “I asked them to stick with me and I would be president again. I took the ball and ran with it, with the help of these other ladies who are now called the ‘gang of eight.”
Those determined ladies included McAnulty, Sharon Boler, Mary Lynn Doyle, Virginia Dubroy, Debbie Dolson, Sondra Haile, Gayle Higgs, and Memory Wolfe. They began to tack up flyers in feed and western stores, put ads in the newspaper and advertise on Craigslist.
“The first meeting, 50 women appeared at my house,” McAnulty said. “Ninety percent of those who came, joined. They were all interested in horses. It took off from there and it hasn’t stopped.”
McAnulty, at 82, is still active in the club, which now numbers about 140. “I spent about a year putting the book together (Granite Mountain Riders – Celebrating 40 Years). I still attend meetings and activities,” she said, adding that a bout with Covid in January slowed this cowgirl down “a bit!”
While the club still is a social gathering of women who love horses, it is very much modern, with a detailed budget, chaired committees, award programs, website, computerized records, and publicity brochures. But the activities have not slowed a bit.
The 2021 program list included something for virtually any horse lover – a “40 Years of GMR” exhibit at the Phippen Museum in Prescott, monthly trail rides, mounted shooting and carriage driving demos, a Cowgirl Poets open mic, various educational clinics such as saddle and bit fitting, horseshoeing demos, and more, drill team events, barbecues, potlucks, a day at the races at Arizona Downs, camping out with horses, and a retreat at Dead Horse Ranch State Park.
Members ride in a number of parades – Chino Valley Territorial Days, Prescott Frontier Days, the Prescott Christmas Parade, and more, for which GMR has won a number of awards. The GMR Drill Team performs at the popular Olsen’s Equifest each year, and this year thrilled attendees at a Chamber mixer at Chino Valley Equestrian Center.
One of McAnulty’s favorite memories is the year GMR won the trophy for Best Mounted Entry at the Prescott Frontier Days Parade.
“When we started to go out to the staging area for the parade, I turned and looked at 23 members all decked out for the parade and got choked up. They were dressed fit to kill with matching hats, vests, and shirts, and leg wraps and blankets on the horses. They looked like a million dollars. That was a moment for me,” she said.
While 23 is only a fraction of GMR’s members, that’s how many of GMR’s events turn out. They are virtually all successful because of the large membership from which to draw. “Not everyone does everything, but we have a good turnout for whatever we do,” McAnulty said.
GMR members come from all walks of life, and from all areas of equine expertise. Longtime member Lynn Valenti, who joined in 2016, said, “We have trail riders, people who enjoy horse camping, those who ride western dressage, who ride cutting horses, those into ranch riding, and speed events such as gymkhanas. We have English riders, those who drive horses, and those who do liberty work.”
That comes in handy when a member is looking for someone to go to a horse show, western clothes shopping or another horse-related pursuit, Valenti said, because there is always someone willing.
Dues for all of that fun, education and camaraderie are just $40 per year, with a portion of dues and money from fundraisers going to support equine-related causes. The club is always ready to support the horse community, whether through donations to such programs as Horses with H.E.A.R.T. or by helping in emergencies. They maintain a list of members’ horse and people facilities so they can help out in a fire or other emergency, and they have helped to support the county’s Large Animal Shelters and Emergency Readiness (LASER) program.
McAnulty still has the wry sense of humor that she expressed in 2011. “I love the organization and what it has become. If I kick off I’ll expect all of them to be at my funeral with hats and vests and their boots shined,” she said, laughing. “I get a lot of credit for bringing this old gal back to life but I couldn’t have done it without help from the many dedicated members, including our officers and chairwomen.”
For more information on Granite Mountain Riders, visit their website at granitemountainriders.com.
